Have You Been Snubbed While Clothes Shopping?

I was so excited to hear that Free People was opening a store here in Nashville.

I get the Free People catalogs in the mail, I've bought a few things from FreePeople.com online, I've pimped quite a few things from Free People here on this blog, and I couldn't wait to see in person all that Free People had to offer.

When I went to the mall a few weeks ago, I made a beeline for the new Free People store. I stepped inside its doors ...

And I couldn't believe what happened next.

The store was empty, which wasn't surprising since it was a weekday morning, and two female employees were standing at a table, folding clothes and chatting.

The store is a small one, so they obviously saw me when I came in, but they didn't bother to make eye contact or acknowledge me in any way. I flipped through racks of dresses, held up skirts to my waist, reflected on shirts, pored through jewelry, tried on a pair of sunglasses, and carefully perused the sale racks.

I was there for a good five minutes, often just a few feet away from the salespeople, and not once did either one of them look in my direction or say one word to me.

I was being snubbed.

This used to happen to me all the time when I was a teenager shopping in nicer stores, and back then I didn't like it, but I understood why it was happening. Salespeople just assumed I didn't have any money, and didn't want to waste their time on a kid.

But I've grown up since then. At Free People, I was dressed nicely. I had a few bags from various other stores in the mall on my arm. I was left thinking that the saleswomen thought I didn't fit their 20-something, bohemian vibe, and so they didn't feel I was worth their acknowledgement.

And you know what? I didn't like feeling that way. I won't go back there again.

You'd think in a recession, employees would be trained to help create an atmosphere that's pleasing to a customer. I don't like salespeople who won't leave me alone, but I do expect a simple hello and a smile from a salesperson, particularly if the store is completely empty.

I know I'm not the only one who's been snubbed in a clothing store by the salespeople. It's one of those things I think we've all experienced. Am I right?

When were you snubbed while clothes shopping? Did you ever shop at that store again?